1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to insertion machines for compiling sets of documents and inserting such sets into envelopes, and in particular to an accumulator device having paper guide mechanisms capable of tool-less adjustment.
2. Related Art
Ramp accumulators are well-known for accumulating sets of documents from a stream of documents fed seriatim thereto. Such accumulators typically include at least two driven belts which engage a document at its upper and lower surface, respectively, shaft-mounted pulleys for directing and driving the belts, two side guides which engage and guide the edges of documents being transported by the belts, a ramp for directing the document upward onto the top of a stack of accumulated documents ("over-accumulation") or downward under a stack of documents ("under-accumulation"), and a sheet-restraining means for preventing the stacked documents from being fed by the belts until all sheets for a particular set have been accumulated.
Accumulators of the prior art are typically designed to handle a single paper size. That is, variables such as the lateral positioning of the belts, the lateral and longitudinal positioning of the ramps, and the distance between the side guides have been either permanantly set or have been adjustable only through time-consuming procedures involving, e.g., the loosening and tightening of various set screws.